Apparatus for the treatment of furnace-gases.



No. 745,255. PATENTTD DEG. S, 190s..

' R. BAGGALEY. APPARATUS TOR THB TREATMENT oF PU'RNACE GASES. APPLIUATION FILED JUNE 27. 1903.

1ro Holm.. 7 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' m munis PETERS no.. Puma-uiuc. wunmnf'nu. u. c.

No. 746,255. PATENTED EEO. s, 1903.

-E.BAGGALEY'. APPARATUS EOE THE TREATMENT 0E EUENAGE GASES.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 27. 1903.

I0 MODEL. 7 SHE'ETS-SHBT 3..

V I l I 10. JZ WL En. 746,255. l PATENTED DEG. 8, 1.903r

R.EAGGALEY.

.APPARATUS PORTI-IE TREATMENT O FEURNAGE GASES;

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 27. 190s. Y

.No MODEL. v 1 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

wlTm-:sses' v lnvENToR' PATBNTBD DEC. a, 1903.

R. BAGGALBY. APPARATUS PQR THBTR'EATMENT 0F FURNAGB GASES.

' No. 746,255. r PATENTES 1330.8, 190s.

. R. BAGGALBY. APPARATUS TOR THTJ TREATMENT 0T PURNAGE GASES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 27. 1903.

N0 MODEL. 7 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

wrrNEssES mvsn'ron MAK 10.746.255. l' PATENTBD'IDBG. 8,190.3'.

R. BAGGALBY.

Y APPARATUS FOR THE TREATMENT 0F PURNACE GASES.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE z'l. 1903. y 'No MODEL. 7 SHEETS-SHEET '1.

` mvENTon THE uonms PETERS to, Pnmomfwo. wnsfamawu. D c.

45 deposited in the surrounding country.

y UNITED j STATES Patented December 8, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

RALPH BAGGALEY, or PITTsBuRe, PENNSYLVANIA.

APPARATUS FOR THE TREATMENT OF FURNACE-GASES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 746,255, dated December 8, 1903.

A Application led .T une Z7, '1903. Serial No. 163.322. (No model.)

for the Treatment of Furnace-Gases, of

which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to theac- `companying drawings, forming part'of this specification, in whichf apparatus embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical central section on the line II Il of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a top plan viewof the apparatus shown in Fig. l.

material within the screen-chamber. Fig. 5

is a-vertical section on the line V V of Fig. 4.V

Fig. 6 is an elevation showing one of the leaves of the moving mechanism. The figures on Sheets 4 and 5 illustrate a modification.-

Fig. 7 is a vertical longitudinal section of apparatus with amodied construction of moving mechanism. Fig. 8 is a vertical sectionon the lineVIII VIII of Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a z5 horizontal section on the line IX IX of Fig..

7. Figs. 10 and l1 are details. Fig. l2 o n Sheet 6 illustrates a third modiiication and is a side elevation of the apparatus,`partly in vertical section. Fig. 13 is a vertical section on the line XIII XIII of Fig. 12, and Fig. 14

is a perspective detail view.

My invention consists in a novel apparatus for'preventing the devastating eifects to vegetation and to the streams arising from the smelting of ores containing sulfur, arsenic,

40 rable from the fusion of suld ores.

In a furnace smelting three hundred and sixty tons of ore that contains, say, twenty per cent. of sulfur from sixty to seventy-five tons of sulfur are volatilized and of cpurse On damp or rainy days the sulfur will fall within a short distance of the smelter-stack. On clear days it will often be carried'for a distance of ifteen'or twenty miles. The result is the same wherever it falls. "Vegetation is destroyed `and the sulfur is carried by the surface drainage into the streams and ponds,

Figure l is a vertical longitudinal section Fig. 4 is a plan I5 view of the device yfor moving the filtering and the water is polluted and rendered unit foruse. is impossible to operate smelting plants and to conduct agriculture successfully in the same district.

My invention is founded on the fact that:

the sulfur and sulfur dioxid gases can be removed fro'm smelter-gases by passing them through a'screen or filter of broken material, preferably lbroken furnace slag moistened with water or alkaline solution, if means are provided for renewing the surface of the broken material which is exposed to the gases and keeping it in such condition as to be readily permeable thereby. Instead of broken slag Imay use fragments of rock, gravel, or other suitable waste non-iniammable material. I am aware that it has been proposed to employ broken material as a screen for the mechanical jseparation of impurities from` gases; but the lack of means for moving or renewing the material has prevented such. devices from being` efficient. My invention overcomes such defects and provides an apparatus which is simple and effective in its operation. The importance of the results accomplished renders the invention of great practical value.

In practical use of my invention it will not be necessary ordinarily to eliminate all they If twenty per cent. ot' the sulfur sulfur. fumes, for example, is allowed to escape, the fumes will be so dilute as to readily become dissipated in the'atmosphere without serious injury to the surrounding country.

vIn my apparatus Iprovide a chamber con-V taining successivescreens each charged with broken filtering material, and as the material becomes spent or coatedwith the impuri-V ties I discharge it below upon conveying mechanism.`

Referring nowto Fig. l, 2 is a chamber connected by a flue 3'with the discharge-opening of a copper-smelting furnace and also leading to a stack-flue or exhaust-fan, by whichla draft is created suicient to cause the vgases to pass throughfthe chamber and through the screenor screens therein. V Each screen, as shown inFig. 1,' "is constituted by vertical walls 44, of tile' or masonry, extending across the chamber and having Janintermediate screen-chamber 5 for containing Soserious has this become that it IOO the filtering material. These wallshave pert'orations G G, which are preferably inclined upwardly from the interior space, so as to permit tree passage of the gases and to prevent loss of the material. At the top of the cha-mber 5 `is a hopper 7, through which the broken slag is fed to the chamber, and at the bottom is a dischargechute 8, leading to a conveyer 9, by which the discharged slag is carried to the dump. For the purpose of moving the material within the chamber 5 for renewing it and for preventing it :from settling' in such close mass as to prevent free passage of the gases I employ moving mechanism of which the preferable construction is shown in lig. l. It consists of endless ropes or chains l0, passing around sprocketwheels ll. 1l and through the screen-chamber 5. Leaves or shelves l2 are pivotally connected to clamps 13 on the ropes and preferably extend along the full width of the screenchambcr. Beingpivoted they Willpass freely around rthe sprocket-wheels; but when passing through the sereeu-chamber they lie horizontally, so as to afford moving supports for the i'iltering material. These supports separate the liltering material into strata, and thus keep it from packing in the screen-chamber -and obstructing the flow of gases.

The broken slag is fed to the screen-chamber from the hopper 7, and as the moving shelves l2 pass the hopper they carry portions of it downwardly. The slag is wetted by water or alkaline solution from a pipe or pipes 14,-. It will thus be seen that by the motion of the shelves the broken slag' is caused to travel through the screen-chamber and to present Fresh surfaces and that it is separated into layers, so to be readily permeable by the gases. As the slag reaches the bottom ci' the screen-chamber it drops upon a couveyer 9 and is carried to the dump or to a car, by which it is removed. The endless ropes ll, carrying the shelves, may be moved either continuously or intermittently, as desired7 and the rate of their travel determines the speed at which the broken slag is moved.

The apparatus is entirely mechanical and can be operated with a minimum labor and with little cost.

As the shelves move through the screenchamber their edges act as cutters and dislodge 'from the Walls of the chamber the incrustations deposited thereon from the gases, permitting them to descend with the filtering material. rlhc same function is performed by the edges ci' the buckets in the modification shown in Figs. 7, 8, and i), in which the construction is or may be the same as that above described, except that the moving mechanism for the slag consists of buckets l2, secured to endless chains l0. I also show in these iigu res a double hopper 7 at the upper end of the screen-space.

In the modification shown in Figs. 12 and 155 I employ as the moving mechanismv bars l5,

which extend horizontally across the screenchamber and are connected by vertical rods 16, set in grooves in the masonry walls and adapted to be reciprocated by links 17 from cranks 1S. The bars l5 are preferably made of hard wood, faced with brass or other material not eorrodible bythe furnace-gases, or they may be made entirely ol' brass. The bars on opposite sides of the screen-chamber are moved by the cranks in opposite directions, and thus serve as cutters and constantly free the interior of the chamber from incrustatiens.

The rate of discharge of the :liltering material from the screen-chamber is governed by a discharge mechanism comprising, preferably, a reciprocating valve or plunger 19, controlling an opening 2O at the base of the chamber. At cach reciprocation ol' this plunger it permits the discharge of a certain quantity of the material from the screen-chamber and ejects it upon the conveyer, so that by regulating the speed of the plunger the rate ol' discharge of the material maybe determined. All liability of the material to scall'old in the screen-chamber is prevented by reciproeation of the bars.

The removal of the incrustations from the Walls is a matter of great practical importance.

In an ordinary smelting-furnace having a capacity of three hundred and sixty tons of ore in twen ty-fou r hours, which ore may contain twenty per centum of sulfur, it will be necessary to precipitate from the fumes in each twenty-tour hours at least from fifty to seventy-tive tons of such impurities, according to the character of the ore under treatment. Over one-fifth (2f) et' these three hundred and sixty tous every day will be expelled in the form of sublimated metals or metalloids. It is possible that such a furnace will sometimes throw oft in gases a total of one hundred tons in twenty-four hours, or approximately tour tons per hour, or one ton in every fifteen minutes, or, say, one hundred pounds per minute. A portion of the deposited impurities will precipitate as ah ard mass in the flues on the interior of the flue-Walls and especially around the interior edges of each line, and as the tonnage precipitated is very great such accumulations of incrustations, dse., are necessarily quite rapid, and in time such projections of precipitated material on the interior of the line-walls will interfere with and obstruct the draft and in time may clog and obstruct the travel of the screens. lt is important that these obstructions be q uickly and cheaply removed from the interior walls so often as maybe desired and in such a manner that the apparatus Will not be thrown out of service or its successful working be delayed or interfered with. It is also ot importance that this work should be accomplished without manual labor.

In the apparatus shown in the drawings the removal of the precipitated impurities is IOC IIO

accomplished efficiently. Inthe construction shown in Figs. 12 and 13 of the drawings the 'upright rods or bars that carry the-cutterbars are countersunk into -the nue-walls between each upright row of lues, in which manner they are protected from the action of the gases and are also partially protected from the action of the alkaline solutions .on the filtering material. Each cutter-bar when at rest is shielded and protected from the action of the gases. Each upright bar is provided with guides both above and below that hold it rigidly into the exact position necessary to enable the cutter-bars to do the most effective work in their mission of removing such incrustations and precipitated materials. The cutter-bars themselves may be adjusted to any angle to make their work most effective, and the entire mechanism may be arranged, if desired, so as to work continuously and slowly or intermittently and rapidly, .whichever maybe found in practice to best suit the work and to produce the most economical results in each plant where my invention may be utilized.

Vithin the scope of my invention as defined in the claims the apparatus may be modiiied in various particulars, since What l claim isl. Apparatus for removing impurities from gases, comprising a screen-chamber containing a charge of broken material, and mechanism moving in the chamber and adapted to cause its passage therethrough; substantially as described.

2. Apparatus for removing impurities from gases, comprising a screen chamber and screen, and mechanism moving in the chamber and adapted to cause passage of the screen, and means for wetting the screen material; substantially as described.

3. Apparatus for removing impurities from gases, comprising a screen-chamber and illtering material and a series of supports moving through the chamber and adapted to move the iiltering material and separate it into strata; substantially as described.

4. Apparatus for removing impurities from the filtering material and separate it into v strata, and a hopper from which the material is fed; substantially as described.

6. Apparatus for removing impurities from gases, comprising a screen-chamber and iltering material, and a series of supports mounted on an endless chain or rope, moving through the chamber and adaptedy to move the iiltering' material and separate it into strata; substantially as described.

7. Apparatus for removing impurities from gases, comprising a screen-chamber and a screen of filtering material, mechanism moving in the chamber and having cutters for removing incrustations; substantially as described.

8. Apparatus for removing impurities from gases, comprising in combination with a chamber through which the gases pass, mechanism having cutters adapted to remove incrustations from the walls; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

RALPH BAGGALEY. Vitnesses:

Guo. B. lBLEMING7 f J oHN MILLER." 

